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• Full Finding Aid
• Overview
• Arrangement
• Administrative History
• Scope and Contents
• Related Material
• Access Restrictions
• Detailed Description

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New York State Education Department Bureau of School District Organization Certification Files Regarding State Aid and Reorganization

Some content may contain outdated and offensive terminology. See: New York State Archives Statement on Language in Descriptive Resources

Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Alphabetic by county, thereunder in reverse chronological order.

Administrative History

The consolidation of small rural school districts into larger central school districts was first enacted into law in Chapter 55 of the Laws of 1914, which provided for the formation of "Central Rural Schools." The first rural central school district was created in 1924. In 1925, the Cole-Rice Law (Chapter 673 of the Laws of 1925) was enacted, which provided state financial aid for transportation and school construction in order to encourage rural school districts to consolidate. The pace of centralization increased in the 1930's, but the process of centralization was criticized as piecemeal by the Regents' Inquiry into the Character and Cost of Public Education in 1938. In response, the Bureau of Rural Administrative Services was created in 1943 to facilitate the process of school district centralization, and a Master Plan for School District Reorganization was created by the Joint Legislative Committee on the State Education System in 1947. The Bureau of Rural Administrative Services was renamed the Bureau of School District Organization in 1964. By 1959, the number of school districts in New York State had fallen to under 2,000, down from around 10,000 in 1925. Overall, the movement toward centralized school districts was reflective of a national trend towards greater involvement by state governments and state education agencies in the administration and funding of public schools.

Under Chapter 657 of the laws of 1962 the Commissioner of Education must certify that the receipt of state aid for building purposes by any school district employing eight or more teachers and scheduled for reorganization will not impede the completion of reorganization.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains the records of the Department's decisions in the issuance of certificates that allowed school districts to receive state aid for building projects that did not conflict with the existing Master Plan for School District Organization. Included among these records are correspondence and memoranda, applications for certification of building aid, occasional copies of the Commissioner's certificate of impedance or non-impedance, worksheets for computing state aid, blueprints of proposed building projects, and clippings. For most counties the series contains a single folder, but in some cases there are separate files for individual central or enlarged city school districts. At the beginning of the series are a few general files which include memoranda summarizing the district reorganization and state aid processes.

Related Material

B0477 Bureau of School District Organization subject and administrative files

11120 Bureau of School District Organization files of master plan studies

B1104 Education Dept. Office of Counsel school district centralization files

15671 Bureau of School District Organization district superintendent county files relating to appointments and organization orders

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Detailed Description